Wednesday, 17 June 2026 07:00 AM
Awards
-- Longwood Fund and Christoph Westphal receive recognition from Commonwealth for leadership and impact on the biotech industry
BOSTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / June 17, 2026 / Longwood Fund, a venture capital firm creating and investing in science-based companies that develop important treatments to help patients, today announced that Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey honored Longwood Fund and Christoph Westphal, MD, PhD, General Partner of Longwood Fund, with the presentation of the Governor's Citation, recognizing Dr. Westphal's career as a physician-scientist, entrepreneur, investor, and CEO, advancing breakthrough medicines and co-founding pioneering biopharma companies.
"On behalf of the residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I am pleased to confer upon you this Governor's Citation in recognition of your extraordinary leadership and transformative impact on the biotech industry," stated Governor Healey in the Citation. "We wish you continued success in supporting the growth of the biotech industry in Massachusetts and beyond."
Signed by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, the Governor's Citation honored his achievements in co-founding biotech companies that have gone on to help to transform the industry, create disease-altering medications to help patients, and create thousands of jobs in the region.
Dr. Westphal was the founder, CEO, and lead investor of Alnylam, and six additional biotechs that completed IPOs, created sustained market value of over $70 billion, and have developed and received FDA approval for over 10 important drugs, including the first class of approved genetic medicines (RNAi). He is the co-founder and General Partner of Longwood Fund and has spent over 20 years as a biotech CEO, entrepreneur, and investor. Dr. Westphal was founder, CEO, and lead investor of companies including Alnylam, Momenta, Acceleron, Sirtris, Verastem, and TScan. Dr. Westphal was also co-founder of Alnara, co-founder/CEO of DEM Bio, co-founder/Executive Chair of Solu and Newleos, and co-founder of Concert Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Westphal and Longwood partners have founded over 20 biotech companies, receiving FDA approval for over 20 important drugs, and created sustained market caps of over $190 billion.
The Governor's Citation was presented to Dr. Westphal at the conclusion of the Governor's keynote at Longwood Healthcare Leaders' MIT CEO, an industry meeting co-hosted with Dr. Westphal alongside Sally Kornbluth, President, MIT; Phil Sharp, Nobelist & Institute Professor, MIT; Bob Langer, Institute Professor, MIT; and Matthew Vander Heiden, Executive Director, Koch Institute at MIT on June 15 and 16, 2026.
Longwood Fund
Longwood Fund is a venture capital firm dedicated to creating and investing in novel healthcare companies that develop important treatments to help patients while driving significant value for investors. The Longwood team has a long history of successfully launching and building important life science companies while providing operational leadership and strategic guidance. Collectively, the Partners at Longwood Fund have co-founded ~25 companies with over 20 launched or marketed therapies, as well as over two dozen clinical-stage assets, all focused on helping patients in need while generating approximately $190 billion of sustained value across founded companies. Companies founded by Longwood Fund, or its principals prior to the founding of the Firm, as lead investor and CEO/CBO include Acceleron, Alnylam, Momenta, Sirtris, TScan, and Vertex. For more information, visit www.longwoodfund.com.
Contact Information
Arielle Jackson
Head, Corporate Communications
[email protected]
617-351-2590
SOURCE: Longwood Fund